In sport, defeats happen, unless you are the Arsenal team of 2003-04 known as the invincibles.

We at AFC Wimbledon have had a bad week with two defeats but the emotions after each one were in stark contrast because the performances were very different.

The Rochdale loss was very poor from our group of players and the reflection afterwards was very open, honest and brutal.

Honesty from your peers can be hard to take sometimes but it also refocuses minds and clears up any uncertainty that’s around.

Training intensity and focus increased in the week leading up to the Portsmouth game.

Personally, having played briefly on the south coast for Southampton in the 2007-08 season on loan, I was looking forward to the game at Fratton park - having 17,000 people there as well added to the occasion.

Our performance was a lot better and we should have got something from the game but still lost. Afterwards the disappointment in the dressing room was tangible.

Thinking about the two defeats and the manner of them, the cold statistician will state that no points were taken from the games so same outcome, but the realist looks at both performances and sees a dramatic difference between them in terms of improvement.

Both are very difficult to take but when you feel you should have got something from a game it’s very frustrating.

When you're outplayed and don’t represent yourself to the standards you know you’re capable of, it's very disheartening.

After both games focusing on the positives in a performance is always the correct thing to do, seeing the negatives, trying to work hard collectively on them and correct them.

Bottom line is that if performances are good, results will follow.

To survive in sport and not be defeated, a sports person must always maintain a positive frame of mind constantly.